La De Da

I just wanted to announce my own engagement to Joel Plaskett. I was just at his show at Amigos and I decided that him and I are going to get married. He does not know this yet so give me about three years to close the deal. I will let you know when everything is final.

Unfortunatley, this is not the case... yet. But I would like to say congratulations to my great friend Karen on her engagement. I am very happy for both her and Rees.

Anyway, I did actually just get home from the Joel Plaskett Emergency concert. It was an amazing night musically and personally for me. I learned a lot about myself in just one concert and it really changed my perspective on a few things. It is amazing how that can happen in just one night.

Musically, it was an amazing concert. Joel Plaskett, to me, is what "Canadian" music sounds like. Whenever someone asks me what he sounds like, I just say "Canadian". His song writing is so personal so when you listen to him you are taken to many different places. It rocked. It talked. It was honest. Honesty is such a huge thing for me when I am listening to music, and he is honest. You experience his life in his music because he is such a good story teller. It was the first time in a long time that I could close my eyes and just listen. The place was crowded, but I was so into the music that I was just in my own little world. I got so many of those little tingles that we are constantly searching for in the music as musicians, but also as listeners.

You can probably tell I am really impressed by Mr. Plaskett. It was all very impressive. But the music ended up taking me somewhere other than tingles. Music is incredibly personal no matter how you look at it, but instead of just being a personal experience, it ended up changing a little part of my person. This was a place I never expected Joel Plaskett and his music to take me when I walked into Lydia's tonight.

I got there and discovered that my ex-boyfriend, Luke, was going to be present. I havn't actually seen him since the breakup, but he loves Joel Plaskett. In fact, he is the very person that hooked me on Joel Plaskett. On my birthday he made me a CD, and Joel Plaskett was on it. I was obsessed with the song and made him listen to it over and over everytime we drove somewhere in my van. Poor guy, he ended up getting pretty sick of that song.

Anyway, he was there tonight. I noticed him standing at the bar and he was staring at me. As soon as he knew I noticed him, he turned away. Luke definatley knows that I am pissed at him, and at that point in the evening I had every intention to ignore him all night. He hurt me, so I didn't want to talk to him. Fair, I guess. I figured that I had avoided seeing him since the breakup for this long, I wasn't going to sacrafice my record now.

After awhile of visiting with some friends and ignoring Lucas, Joel Plaskett finally takes the stage and I go by myself to the front. Luke, unfortunatley, decides that he would stand not too far down from me. The first song starts, and it is the song that Luke put on my birthday CD for me, Happen Now. Coincidence? No, probably not. And what happened inside of me next wasn't a coincidence either.

I was overcome with this strong feeling of forgiveness. I have never felt a feeling so powerful and it literally took over me. I felt a little emotional, but in a happy way. I was so happy I could have cried. I was so into the song, and it became clear to me what I needed to do. I walked over to Luke, tapped him on the arm and I whispered in his ear "No hard feelings, okay?". I smiled at him, squeezed his arm a little, and I walked away. Luke smiled. My resentment had finally vanished, I felt a little lighter than before, and I continued to be completley taken by Joel Plaskett.

After the show I went and said hi to a friend, and began to leave but I felt someone squeeze my arm. It was Luke. At this point, I couldn't help feeling a little sad. Forgiveness is a powerful thing, but I think it is a rare thing for a human being to forgive and forget. I won't forget the relationship that we had, or how much the breakup sucked, or how much I probably hurt him just as much as he hurt me. But at the same time, I will never forget driving in the car and making him listen to Happen Now on repeat either. I won't forget him smiling at me from behind his drum set when he was playing a show, or me smiling at him while playing my bass at a show. I won't forget about the night we played chess at the yard for like five hours. I won't forget hanging out in his room listening to jazz, or the night we went to the Jason Collett show together. There is no denying that he did care for me even though its easier to just be mad. It was bad timing, and some things just aren't meant to be.

After the Joel Plaskett concert we visited a little. He gave me updates on his band. We talked about jazz fest a little. We talked about moving out, and moving in, and our jobs. It was good to catch up, and at the end of it all he said that it was good to finally see me again, and he gave me a hug... which ended up being a little awkward because I was a little suprised. I actually said "oh... okay we're doing that?". Besides the fact that I have no tact sometimes, it was a step in the right direction. Not just for a friendship, but for striving to become a better person. Forgiveness is a powerful thing. I had every intention of ignoring him for eternity, even just a few hours before. All it took was a little Joel Plaskett to save the day.

Which is why I have decided I am going to marry him. No date is set yet, but I will let you know the details as soon as Joel and I discuss them. This will, of course, take place after I meet finally meet him, get him to fall desperatley and passionatltey in love with me, and ultimatley, propose. La Deeeee Da.***

Anyway, work in the morning. Damn the man.

Song of the day: NonBeliever- Joel Plaskett (aka my future husband)

*** Name of Joel Plaskett's latest album. Check that one out, as well as Truthfully, Truthfully and also the album Clayton Park, which he recorded with his former band, Thrush Hermit. Yes, that is right. THRUSH HERMIT. Word.